Essential reading for anyone interested in economics or public policy. “The Affluent Society” barely mentions foreign competition. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. The Affluent Society. Throughout history, most nations suffered poverty. 356 pp. What was needed was increased taxation of the rich to finance social programs for the poor. (EDWIN L. DALE JR., NY Times) User Review - Flag as inappropriate The Affluent Society is a book that questions the very premise of our economic system - production for production's sake. This book is as important when Galbraith first published it. Paul Krugman I think said (or he might have been paraphrasing someone else) that understanding the modern economy involved reading very old books. Start by marking “The Affluent Society” as Want to Read: Error rating book. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for The Affluent Society Revisited at Amazon.com. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. The book takes on and dismantles the "conventional thinking" (he made up that phrase first) in economics. That is, he also tackled the issue of how and why poverty persists along beside plenty, and the economic, social and moral consequences of simply accepting. Instead, we should concentrate on redistributing the existing wealth. When we think of the idyllic years of American history, few decades come as readily to mind as the 1950s. Start your review of The Affluent Society & Other Writings 1952–1967: American Capitalism / The Great Crash, 1929 / The Affluent Society / The New Industrial State Write a review … He therefore assumes that any material consumption beyond this base level is unnatural and is created somehow by forces extrinsic to the individual, moreover this consumption is a historical aberration that is being fostered by erroneous attitudes and insidious advertising. It felt more like a piece of social science academia, than a non-fiction book. The 1950s are often seen as a counterpoint to the decades that followed it — a period of conformity, prosperity, and peace (after the Korean War ended), as compared to the rebellion, unrest, and war that began in the 1960s. The teacher, a Ph.d. in both Philosophy and Mathematics, ran the course as an ongoing debate between three orientations. Starting with a skate through the development of economics - which JKG characterizes as having been born "in a world of poverty and privation" - the book introduced the world to the term "conventional wisdom" (though I've heard a few right of centre economists dispute this) before going on to kick back against the mindless pursuit of "production" (GDP Growth) as an end in itself. I thought I had already written most of this review, but no, I must toil and type to lay it out here in black and white. While it's obviously outdated, with historical context on the American economy before and after the 1950s it becomes an interesting glimpse into past economic theory. The affluent society by john kenneth galbraith BOOK REVIEW...which is obvious for most social scientists, yet his work remains true and practical even today. Readers of this book should not be limited to economists - it is relevant to all of us and valuable to learn more. Written in 1958, this book proposed that America had achieved a level of affluence that made core prevailing modes of thought regarding economic and social progress obsolete. Despite the more horrible predictions of these founding fathers of economic theory not coming to pass we have not moved on from many of their other predictions based on this idea. Some of it is outdated, but unfortunately for us, most of it is not. Fred M. Leventhal, Professor of History, Boston University 'An Affluent Society is an original contribution to British contemporary history. Galbraith was a liberal economist who forthrightly stated that the purpose of economic life is greater than for the simple manufacture of ever greater aggregate wealth. ”, “The shortcomings of economics are not original error but uncorrected obsolescence. A prolific author, he produced four dozen books & over a 1000 articles on many subjects. Among his most famous works was his economics trilogy: “Wealth is not without its advantages and the case to the contrary, although it has often been made, has never proved widely persuasive. The Affluent Society is a 1958 book by Harvard economist John Kenneth Galbraith. So I kind of agree with what Galbraith has to say, but it doesn't read so easily. Left to its own, capitalism would simply try to stimulate consumption by the financially privileged through advertising. Many thanks to the seller for a first 1958 edition (7th printing) of the classic The Affluent Society in very good condition. J. K. Galbraith a "policy entrepreneur," and that assessment seems about right to me. This book was on Newsweek's list of the top 100 books, which I am currently reading through. by John Kenneth Galbraith. hits the nail on the head in diagnosing the obsolescence of our economic thinking, Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2012. Citizens of the Affluent Society? I first read this book in 1970 when I was in the Army and I was all of 19. The first, the free market capitalist, was primarily represented by Milton Friedman. It deals with great clarity with the economic and financial myths our affluent society surrounds itself in every day - from the inefficiency of monetary policy to the shortcomings of fiscal policy - Galbraith easily and masterfully shows us how esoteric and irrational most of the acclaimed economic axioms actually are. He therefore assumes that any material consumption beyond this base level is unnatural and is created somehow by forces extrinsic to the individual, moreover this consumption is a historical aberration that is being fostered by erroneous attitudes. I recommend this book as an introduction to economics as well as just being a good read - especially in current "turbulent" times. Paul Krugman called the Canadian agricultural economist (and University of Toronto alum!) Welcome back. The man who makes his entry by leaning against an infirm door gets an unjustified reputation for violence. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Galbraith was good at several things: Being tall (he was almost 6'10"), turning phrases (he gave us "the conventional wisdom" and a host of memorable epigrams), and making strong arguments for vague government programs and interventions (although he defends this tendency in TAS: "Since these achievements are not easily. This page works best with JavaScript. Galbraith wrote this entire book as a protest against the growth economy, as if it was an economic law that once men's most basic material desires are met, they are fed, clothed and housed, then their fundamental purposes in life have been fulfilled. We’d love your help. "The Affluent Society" barely mentions foreign competition. J. K. Galbraith a "policy entrepreneur," and that assessment seems about right to me. His books on economic topics were bestsellers in the 1950s and 1960s. I wish I'd discovered this guy's writing during his lifetime. THE AFFLUENT SOCIETY THE AFFLUENT SOCIETY HEIMANN, EDUARD 1959-05-01 00:00:00 The story of the book, it is true, begins only on page 77. He was a Keynesian and an institutionalist, a leading proponent of 20th-century American liberalism and democratic socialism. In this sense the book was well ahead of its time and a new edition would surely make more of the happiness angle as well as the sustainability issue which has been all a buzz in recent years. Socio-Economic Review aims to encourage work on the relationship between society, economy, institutions and markets, moral commitments and the … This is so because the "central tradition" economists wrote during a time of widespread poverty where the production of basic goods was necessary. I recommend this book as an introduction to economics as well as just being a good read - especially in current "turbulent" times. This book was on Newsweek's list of the top 100 books, which I am currently reading through. His most famous works include The Affluent Society, The Good Society, and The Great Crash. Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2017, An excellent introduction to popular economics as well as an important source book for the questioning phrase the conventional wisdom, a concept which remains as an important reminder now as it was over 50 years ago, Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2019, a bit hard to read. However, many of his ideas sound good on paper but do not necessarily work in practice. Houghton Mifflin. They are also still only obsessed with production of goods and then production of desire for goods and the production of more goods. In the 1950s and early '60s, it was inconceivable to most Americans that other countries could pose a … Galbraith starts with an explanation of the conventional wisdom, a term coined in this book I believe, and says: John Kenneth Galbraith was a Canadian-American economist. Nonetheless, his analysis, though somewhat dated, addresses some long-term issues that still bedevil us. Poverty in the Affluent Society. Some of his predictions turned out to be dead wrong. The 1950s. The Affluent Society is an excellent but dense, book about the evolution of the American economy. Living out in the suburbs, it is easy to assume that ours is, indeed, an affluent society. The economist's prose, lofty but still easily manageable, laid down the gauntlet for the post-cold war class struggle that was still far in the future in 1958. I am all for keeping our public roads in good shape and our parks clean and, most importantly, open, but heavy taxation today may not result in any better care of our roads or parks and may just end up lining the pockets of our government leaders. Certainly a more liberal view of economics, but one worth reading and thinking deeply about. After all, what is economics but the study of money and the creation and transfer of goods and services. Kind of a knee slapper halfway through, but I don't like his high falutin writing style. If it was stunning then....what he wrote...in the edition that I just read ( which is the 40th Anniversary Edition) it is trembling with ideas that quaked to be presented. The book sparked much public discussion at the time. U.S. society, at the time of Galbraith's writing, was one of widespread affluence, where production was based on luxury goods and wants. Economists still see the private sphere as the only relevant measure of the economy and not public works. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Bother! Anyone who attacks such ideas must seem to be a trifle self-confident and even aggressive. The poor easily grasp their own problems, but the rich don’t comprehend the lot of the poor. Used at Western Washington University in 2011. However, the decade was not without its problems. Before that time, scarcity was the unbroken rule of history. Essential reading for anyone interested in economics or public policy. It's interesting how many of these topics have come even more to the forefront in the last 5 years, and how the discussion has changed, evolved, and collapsed in some cases. The working classes in the advanced capitalist societies have never had it so good. The book sought to clearly outline the manner in which the post–World War II United States was becoming wealthy in the private sector but remained poor in the public sector, lacking social and physical infrastructure, and perpetuating income disparities. Original, provocative, and urgent, Good Economics for Hard Times makes a persuasive case for an intelligent interventionism and a society built on compassion and respect. Look it up now! It deals with great clarity with the economic and financial myths our affluent society surrounds itself in every day - from the inefficiency of monetary policy to the shortcomings of fiscal policy - Galbraith easily and masterfully shows us how esoteric and irrational most of the acclaimed economic axioms actually are. His books on economic topics were bestsellers in the 1950s and 1960s. He covers all aspects of the economy. The third, the market socialist, was. This book is well written and has extraordinary explanatory power. $5.00. It is generally lively but in no way superficial, and deserves to be included on the reading lists of second- and … John Kenneth Galbraith was a Canadian-American economist. The Affluent Society is about sixty years old now. A fantastic, (relatively) light economics book that's great for beginners. To create our... To see what your friends thought of this book, Contrary to the assumptions made in the history of economic theory (from Adam Smith, Ricardo, Mathus and Marx) that the development of the industrial base inevitably leads to the total impoverishment of the working class, we seem to be witnessing quite the opposite. Galbraith is an excellent writer and thinker and this book is a must-read. by Felicia Kornbluh . Before that time, scarcity was the unbroken rule of history. Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2016. 132 reviews John Kenneth Galbraith's international bestseller The Affluent Society is a witty, graceful and devastating attack on some of … There's a problem loading this menu right now. Refresh and try again. Not surprisingly, in their work, we find that production is the highest goal—for by it alone can the needs of the world be met. Although Galbraith occasionally touches on some related issues, it's not truly about Keynsian stimulous, the balance between inflation and full employment, IS-LM models, or similar economic details. Unfortunately, his explanations for the causes of these are based on his view of a failed system of capitalism and solutions based on government action through fiscal policy were misguided then and are today. This crap is usually boring, but Galbraith is funny. Reviewed in the United States on April 5, 2020. The working classes in the advanced capitalist societies have never had it so good. 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